Wednesday, January 16, 2008

WVU said yesterday it is investigating the disappearance of player and football program files said to be missing from Rich Rodriguez's old office.

Oh boy.

Naturally, there is a difference of opinion as to just what R2 was shredding in his office the day after he was announced as the new Michigan head coach.

Mountaineer officials are in an uproar, claiming the documents are nothing short of an original copy of the Magna Carta and an autographed lyrics sheet of John Denver's Take Me Home Country Roads; Coach Rod's agent said the papers were simply personal files belonging to the ex-WVU coach and a copy of the final BCS rankings of the 2007 season sent by Pittsburgh coach Dave Wannstedt.

RR's agent: I'll swear you were taking great care of the Mountaineers' playbook...but last night, you left it on the shredder. And this morning when you woke up, it was gone. The new head coach, writes the Mountaineers...a new playbook.

good lord. hasn't anyone else ever changed jobs? i suppose if you work in a cube, or don't have an office, you don't accumalate as much. but if you do have your own office (walls & a door), it's real easy to just let stuff pile up in a drawer.

when i cleared out my office the last time i took another position, i had a stack of papers, ranging from old check book registers to letters from an insurer concerning a claim for car repairs on a vehicle i hadn't owned for 5 years. the pile must have been 4 ft high. none of it was "work" related.

i didn't want to keep it but i didn't want anyone else reading it. guess what? i shredded it.

before this is over, WVU will not only demonstate that R2 did something nefarious w/ his paper work, they'll also find those WMDs Bush was looking for in Iraq- they'll have been in R2's office this time, along w/ his autographed pic of Osama Bin Laden, the missle launcher he used to down TWA FLT 800, the gun from the grassy knoll he used to shoot Kennedy, and the book of matches he used to light the Hindenburg.

Exactly. Gee, he cleaned out his office? Shocking. All this breathless reporting on this is absurd. Are they seriously trying to sell that RR had ALL the recruiting and student files AND they were all in hardcopy ONLY?

What, did he take the typewriter, too? How will they function? What's next? Did he leave the toilet seat up on the way out of town? Bastard!

Let it play out. Dismissing this out of hand is as premature as calling for his firing because of it. It's concerning. Someone in his position (whether it's a CEO or high-ranking government official) doesn't keep files the way lower-level employees keep files, and a lot of places (even ones that should know better) do not have great records management. SiC sounds like a Domer rationalizing Weis. (I'm just kidding! [Sort of.])

this is such a joke...come on mountaineers, let it go...rrod is gone, he's moved on...he has no ill will towards you but you seem to want to pin something on him before he is officially GONE which he IS ALREADY...i don't think Michigan would hire a guy so stupid as to destroy documents at his old school...also, how outdated is the WVU system?? don't you keep everything on file in computers now like EVERYONE ELSE IN THE WORLD???

The suits in AA have to be a little concerned about Hot Rods character and what actually may be uncovered during this mess. Whether he was within his right to destroy all the documents in his office or not, its clearly not a common practice for departing coaches and is undoubtedly going to smell a little fishy. I think the last thing the UM brass want him focusing on his a pending lawsuit with his old university when he should be focusing on securing his first recruiting class and preparing for September.

i doubt that anyone in A2, including R2, is worrying much about this. "tip of the iceberg"? it's not likely even an ice cube.

everyone (coaches, too) cleans out their office when they leave. somethings get kept, somethings get thrown away (not sure which applies to filed strippers). nothing odd about that.

if you actually read the Gazette article, it sounds even lamer than the second party translations or retellings. someone saw R2 shredding something on 12/18. then, a week before the Fiesta Bowl, they couldn't find files (some of which R2 says didn't exist anyway) that were supposed to be in R2's old office.

first, if these files were so f'ing real, what idiot left them in R2's office after he quit anyway? again, anyone else ever change jobs? even under "good" circumstances, management has a process by which your personal items are "inspected" before you go.

WVU's story is they let R2 back in after he quit, gave him unsupervised access to the facility, and let him remove or destroy items w/ out any review of what he was doing? if that's true, what this story reveals is that WVU's AD is the stupidest, most unprofessional bunch of morons to ever run a DI school (and folks, i was born in wva & raised nearby- this isn't a "hillbilly" slam).

if the "security" around that facility is that lax, how do you keep track of anything?

then, a couple of weeks later they can't find some of the files, so they assume that what's missing must be what R2 was shredding? again, wtf? how important could any of this be if they were so loosely handled and they were the only copy.

finally, why? why would R2 destroy the only copy of anything of value? to cover up past misdeeds while coach at wvu? if so, the wvu ad should shut the f up and let this go. the best thing could happen is we'd fire R2 AND wvu you would get the "smu" treatment from the ncaa.

or is it, as the "source" suggests, R2's "plot" to harm wvu on his way out the door??? he shredded all this info out of spite and meaness? yeah. that doesn't make it sound like a paranoid vendetta.

if there are files missing, there's no way of knowing who took them. and from what the "source" describes them as, i'm not anyone is going to miss them.

Have you ever had a job in an office, and if so do you have every single document that you possess also saved on a computer? I know I sure as hell don't. Also don't you think that if he was going to go to the trouble of shredding documents he would also delete any files he did have from his computer.

SIC,

He went back to his office the same day he held is UM press conference which was also only one or two days after he announced he was leaving. Did you want them to change the locks before he returned and take an inventory of every document in his office? I'm sure they didn't expect that he would come back and begin shredding documents. Your insinuation is that this happens every time a coach (or anyone) changes jobs. If it did, then this would not even be a story. When I resigned from my last job I threw stuff away but didn't take the time to begin shredding.

Having said all of that, I don't see this going anywhere, and if you look at www.wvgazette.com today their writers pretty much state the same thing, so its not like they're out to get RR. This is news to some degree and I think you should wait to see how it plays out before dismissing it.

I think there's a legitimate reason to be more concerned, even though I don't think this is at the level of a scandal.

First, you're analogizing this to a corporate culture, which isn't quite right. Even a lot of major employers don't have the kind of oversight system you're describing. Also, a big part of your argument seems to be that, assuming wrongdoing, it's WVU's fault for not having a stricter procedure in place, which is kind of like saying, "Well, they asked for it." Assuming that's true, it doesn't inspire a lot of confidence that this was a routine housecleaning episode.

Second, a lot of employers (even sophisticated ones) have less-than-perfect document retention and storage policies. But I also think this is a variation on, "Assuming he was engaged in a cover up, it was WVU's fault for not having a different structure." Aside from medical records, it's pretty plausible that WVU didn't have an established system. It does not seem to be the most sophisticated operation.

This story is irrelevant only if 1.) none of it happened at all, 2.) he discarded duplicates and the originals are maintained elsewhere, or 3.) it was personal material not related to the program. Each of these things is plausible.

On the other hand, I think you're right that WVU is on a suicide mission if this is a scorched-earth tactic. The NCAA punishes institutions, not coaches, and if they're trying to dig up evidence of RR wrongdoing and actually find something, WVU gets penalized. The AD shouldn't want this; low-level staff and affiliates may not understand the implications of what they're saying.

I also doubt that (assuming this happened) RR did it to spite the program; more likely that he worried about something damaging in the documents, either truly serious (use your imagination) or just embarrassing (minor things that maybe made him look like a jerk).

My own reaction was along the lines of holy shit; this sounds terrible; I hope it's wrong. Also, while the WVU crowd may just be a pack of angry, vengeful hillbillies, Deliverance shows why you shouldn't just shrug at the angry, vengeful hillbillies.

He really needs to settle that lawsuit, even if it means ponying up the full $4 million.

From a conspiracy perspective, assume there is wrongdoing that both the admin and RR knew about (which this has been a strong rumor in WV for over a year). If the admin launches an investigation and "surprisingly" turns up something, then they would likely receive less or no punishment, but in the process would make RR look like the culprit and thus make it very difficult for UM to keep him or for him to find a job elsewhere at least for a few years (think Rick Neuheisel).

I also find it interesting that the rumors of his wrongdoing began to surface about the same time he showed interest in the Bama job. Those people have a serious inferiority complex. They make State fans look arrogant by comparison.

the entire headline, and the indication that this is a story at all, is predicated on the notion that "shredding" documents is inherently wrong. excuse me, but that's nuts. ask anyone that has ever had to comply w/ HIPPA or any of the other emerging privacy statute.

do you toss credit card statements into the dumpster? bank statements? social security updates?

enron aside, shredding information is perfectly normal and very prudent.

i keep copies of my expense account (w/ receipts), my performance evaluations, my performance evaluations of subordinates, and a host of other, unofficial documents in files in my desk. if i leave, i'm either taking those w/ me OR i'm shredding them before i go. that sort of information must be handled properly and i could get sued if i left a copy of my adm asst's review just lying in a desk drawer for someone else to find (even if the "official" review is in the "official" file down @ HR).

and i don't think anyone would think it odd for me to shred that type of info when i left.

and in this instance, this isn't just "anyone" changing jobs. he's the head coach of a major program leaving for another job. people are likely to go dumpster diving.

shredding material that contains any information that you wouldn't want to read in the paper- from you driver's license to your kids' birthdays- just makes sense.

finally, ask yourself this- if instead of wvu and R2, this was about lloyd? say Lloyd was seen shredding a box of documents a week after the bowl game. someone asked him about it and he told martin he was cleaning out his office and he got rid of a bunch of old papers he didn't want to keep and didn't want to have floating around.

then a few weeks later some files turn up missing. does this even become a story? the fact that lloyd cleaned out his office and around the same time, some "files" went missing would be seen as maybe a coincidence. it wouldn't even sound bad, unless you assumed shredding anything is somehow sinister. and you have an axe to grind.

This has nothing to do with shredding documents. The point that he was shredding docs is a mute point. No one cares what he did with his own personal paperwork. The problem is paperwork that belongs to the University is missing. If you want to compare this to the corporate world and HIPAA, etc; if you were to leave a company and your entire office was emptied out, your ex-company would want to know exactly what you did with all of that information that was in your office. For the exact reasons of HIPPA and other compliance regulations. The last thing they want is for the documents to disappear. In fact a company would not leave the shredding up to the departing employee. They would do it themselves. Hot Rod would do himself and the UM program a service buy paying his $4M buyout and moving on.

nathan-are you kidding me? no i don't have everything on file, but the type of files they are talking about were surely not just paper files. anything that important would be on a computer. wvu looks lame for continuing to go after coach rod.

Everyone will just have to see how this plays out...However, regardless the outcome, I'm sure the people in East Lansing and Columbus are loving the fact that there is an obvious credibility issue with Hot Rod. The roles have been reversed as this is no longer Lloyd's program.

The idea that some of these documents are the sole copy of certain information is either a)ludicrous or b)an endictment of WVU as a whole. Booster info? The athletic department should have that. Class attendance- compliance office. Contact info for players on the roster- what, did they pass out a sign up sheet like it was a book club or something?

Now the Barwis S&C stuff could be true, and maybe the recruiting info- which the shredding of, while sketchy and underhanded- would not be illegal. This whole thing will blow over. Just pay the $4 mill and move on. Yes, it's a fair amount of beans, but I'm fairly confident there's a few accountants in A2 that R2 could employ.

SiC--THANK YOU for the HIPPA reference. Let's see--I gotta bunch of paperwork with students' names, times, grades, evals etc piled up in my office and before I leave I gotta clean it up.SHRED IT PEOPLE. jeebuz

I'm betting that there was likely a firesale over at Schembechler too--you know, take that picture from that game, keep that trophy, need that book, etc. You think the guys are giving back all their Michigan gear??? not so much. granted, they probably aren't shredding sweat pants tho...

reminds me when the Clinton admin left and took all the W's off the keyboards-----

If there were multiple copies, why would you even waste your time shredding one copy. Just throw the shit out. That argument doesn't make much sense. There's going to be a credibility issue with this guy for years.

"If there were multiple copies, why would you even waste your time shredding one copy. Just throw the shit out. That argument doesn't make much sense."

Riiiiiight. Because you want personal information about other people- which was under your protection and is your responsibility-just floating around. doesn't make much sense? Please tell me you're not really that stupid and just had a idiot moment.

T9,As I remember it there was such a huge story about the Clinton staffers destrying property and it turned out none of it was true. but the "none of it is true" story almost zero press. I see that happening here if it turns out to be nothing. And I make a dead hooker reference and don't even get a reaction?! You guys are getting spoiled. ;)

You're making my argument for me. If you have personal information about other individuals then you should not be destroying it in the first place, unless you know for a fact that there are multiple copies. The whole reason this is news is that obviously no one had a copy but RR or the files wouldn't be missing (or everyone in the WVU admin is lying).

Ok, so the compliance office doesn't have records of class attendance? That would make them morons and completely non-compliant. This story is a non-story intended to smear R2 and his reputation. It is not his job to make certain compliance is doing their job, it is his job to take care of the documents in his charge. We don't know yet that there aren't other copies, and btw- your argument was completely different in your other post until I called you out on it. Keep trying though.

T9,Only if she'd died of anticipation darling- only if she died of anticipation. And how did you know Mr. Happy's name? Have you been stalking me again? Remember what the judge said young lady- 500 feet away.

Ok wait, I rescind that because we don't know if it is true. All we know right now is that an anonymous source has made allegations and the WV administration is looking into them. For this reason I don't think they could all be "lying" as they haven't made a statement as to the truth of the claims one way or another.

All of this will more then likely blow over soon enough. I do however find it humorous how all of the Michigan people are so quick to proclaim Hot Rod as a wrongly accused victim and the WVU people crazy rednecks. This is the first time in our lifetimes and maybe ever that a UM football coach may be a slight fraud bending the rules. If this was a new hire at tOSU, MSU, or anyplace else for that matter the Michigan people would be all over said coach and screaming how everyone else cheats to win. With Hot Rods reputation it looks like the UM program will no longer be squeaky clean, which will create some fun banter for everyone else.

And I think he'll find soon enough that squeaky clean is the only acceptable option in Ann Arbor. And with the kind of talent he can pull here there's no reason for any shenanigans, so I'm not all that worried about reputation.

Why just do a routine investigation when conspiracy theories can make this whole thing a lot more fun?For instance FACT #01:The WV governor and WVU president were seen coming out of the athletic department together before the shredding report hit the papers. Coincidence? I think not.FACT #02: Last months electric bill for the athletic department was the same as the month previous. If all that shredding was really done, why didn't it show up on the electric bill?FACT #03: Isn't it curious that the word Mountaineers ends in "s" while the word shredder begins with "s". Notice the word "file" or "Enron" doesn't have an "s" in it?All these facts add up to an WVU conspiracy.

Joshua, you're right, RR would never ever do anything shady at Michigan b/c the fans would just not accept it. With such a superior program to everyone else in the nation, I mean why would they have to. Look at USC, similar tradition, better weather and location, and there are never any shady rumors about them. The annual rumors of their players being paid are all obviously true b/c shady behavior is just not an option in Los Angeles, CA.

all good things come to an end. the bitter wvu fan thing was entertaining for awhile. however, i have the feeling it's jumped the shark by now.

the "missing files" incident is beginning to take on the feel of the "missing strwaberries" incident from "the caine mutiney". wvu's governor sitting w/ a handful of ball bearings, clacking them in his hand as he says: "and i would have found those missing files, if it hadn't been for disloyal assistant coaches..."

First, have you ever, EVER heard a rumor about recruiting impropriety coming out of Ann Arbor and our football program which turned out to have merit? Has our QB been suspended for accepting money from boosters like Troy Smith was? Or had arguably the best player to play for us in years suspended for driving a "loaner" car like Maurice Clarrett? Or had a star player's family living in a home which didn't belong to them like Reggie Bush's? Or been dismissed from the team like Rhett Bomar at OU? No, you haven't. This is true for two reasons: First the program and our head coaches will not tolerate it or look the other way, and secondly you're correct- our fan base wouldn't tolerate it. We hold ourselves to a higher standard. Maybe that makes us arrogant, but it's true.

I guarantee R2 has been made aware of what is acceptable behavior when you wear the Maize and Blue. And as for the recruiting angle, my point was that he'll now be able to attract top level talent unlike what he had at WVU. It had nothing to do with other top programs and the fact that we're superior, but thanks for giving me a reason to bring it up, it was fun!

"The annual rumors of their (USC) players being paid are all obviously true b/c shady behavior is just not an option in Los Angeles, CA."

Sarcasm aside, wouldn't the players being paid constitute shady behavior? Did you mean "not true?" Look, do yourself a favor and take an argumentative writing course, or at the very least learn to proofread your arguments.

Sorry I don't proofread comments I post on blog websites, really I apologize. As to the argument you were making, you made it seem that even if RR was shady at WVU there's no way that would be tolerated at UM. I have never heard any rumors from UM, however, you have had the same coach throughout my lifetime. I never heard rumors come from WVU until RR got there, so the question is was it an honorable coach or an overall honorable program? It seems that if a program is so honorable they would be hesitant to hire someone with integrity questions in the first place, but that's just my opinion. At least we can agree that someone should just pay the damn money and both sides leave each other alone. Didn't UM boosters even offer to pay the buyout in the first place?

sorry, but this is not about the money. this about anger, embarrassment, and trying to save face. if someone @ wvu really wanted the cash, they would have waited for the mandated time (30 days?) for paying any of the penalty to pass before doing anything. filing, let alone trying to negotiate, before that only insures that the money will be LATER in coming, not sooner. being sued by someone is the BEST excuse not to pay them.

no, the lawsuit and everything else is about the AD & Co trying to shift focus from the allegations of wvu booster that they mishandled the situation to casting rocks at R2's behavior. it makes them look better and keeps the anger of wvu fans on him, not them.

if R2 wrote'em a check tomorrow, none of this would go away any faster. there'd still be this lame investigation on the files. there'd still be the car commercials in Beckly mocking him. there'd still be hate mail to his kids.

face it- given stewart's paltry salary, wvu is saving nearly $4 million over the next couple/three seasons w/ this coaching change. this will only die off when wvu (& fans) feels they've made enough noise to cover up their embarrassment of having Michigan poach a 2nd coach in 12 months time. not a minute (or dollar) before then.

Most likely because they weren't too successful before he got there. They were ok, but not great. Notice how you never hear rumors about the mass of impropriety at Northwetern? Or even Michigan state or Purdue for that matter?

"It seems that if a program is so honorable they would be hesitant to hire someone with integrity questions in the first place..."

Exactly. Bingo. You win the prize for stating my point better than I could.* With a reputation for integrity and a multi-million dollar program do you think the coach, and any "issues"- real or imaginary- wouldn't have been properly vetted? All we have so far on this document bru-ha-ha is an "anonymous source" claiming a bunch of things, some of which have already been refuted by officials at WVU. Then whispers of impropriety by somebody's neighbor's pilates instructor's dog's groomer about "things" that are going to come out. And a couple of guys with character issues (Pacman and Chris Henry) who were associated with the program but didn't get into trouble when there. The idea that he had to take talented yet questionable character guys makes sense as he was building a program and didn't have access to the type of player a Michigan, Osu or Texas may have access to.

*Prize being a beer or drink of choice bought for you by me, provided we ever end up in the same general vacinity. Offer not valid in all states.

"With a reputation for integrity and a multi-million dollar program do you think the coach, and any "issues"- real or imaginary- wouldn't have been properly vetted?"

Didn't the interview and the hiring take place within basically one weekend? How much vetting can be done in three days?

Look we're going in circles. I am a WVU fan, but I have made it known on this site that I was happy when RR left, b/c I frankly just don't think he's that great of a coach. I just get annoyed with the high and mighty attitude of fans of other schools who think they're above the seediness of college football and college football coaches. Of course you're not above throwing out stereotypical references to hillbillies and rednecks.

SIC- WV fans have known about his personal character issues for years, but just ignored them b/c he was winning games. You guys have already stated that you won't put up with them so RR better be good or he will be fired at the first rumor.

I always came here in the past b/c I enjoyed the trashing of Ohio State. Still enjoy the site just think there is some naivety from some people on here if they think UM is almighty clean program of America.

Whetstone- I should have phrased that differently. I enjoy the jokes about Ohio State and think this blog author (whoever it is) is a pretty clever blog writer. I actually a very small soft spot for OSU b/c your former strength coach gave me a tour of all the football facilities there. They were being renovated though so not much to see, but did enjoy seeing the BCS trophy.

Thinking that Bill Martin and his evil minions didn't do their homework before they interviewd R2 is silly in and of itself. Not saying you are, just the notion.

"Still enjoy the site just think there is some naivety from some people on here if they think UM is almighty clean program of America".

Well either we're really, really good at cheating or we're clean. I prefer to think we're clean, and the things I've witnessed personally and the ties I have to the program (extended family) lead me to believe so as well. When Tyrone Wheatley- arguably the best running back in the nation at the time- is driving around in an old station wagon that doesn't have a working driver's side door but Vince Young drives around in an Escalade and nothing is ever said, well, that says a lot to me. Our guys know that no one within the program will be looking the other way. Rumors are always floating arouond, but the first time someone shows up in a "loaner" car you can bet Lloyd will have his foot up R2's ass.

"if you were looking to be annoyed by high & mighty fans who have a superior attitude, you came to the right place."

Hey, I didn't ask that we be better than everyone else, it just happened that way!

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